In November of last year, as part of the Higher Coordinating Committee meeting, Vice President Biden and Prime Minister Maliki committed to strengthening the U.S.-Iraq energy partnership and supporting the continued increase of Iraq’s energy supply to the global markets. Following on that meeting, today in Baghdad, Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman and Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs at the State Department Carlos Pascual co-chaired the Energy Joint Coordination Committee with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Hussain Al Shahristani. These meetings provided an important opportunity for the Governments of Iraq and the United States to further our cooperation to strengthen and secure energy infrastructure, develop natural gas resources and reduce gas flaring, support improvements in electricity generation, and examine the roles efficiency and renewable energy can play in meeting Iraqi energy needs. The United States and Iraq remain committed to the development of Iraq’s electricity, oil, and gas sectors in an effort to build a strong economy that is capable of meeting the needs of the Iraqi people and bringing greater stability to world markets. We look forward to hosting the next Joint Coordination Committee on Energy meeting in Washington on a date to be agreed later.

The U.S.-Iraq Joint Coordination Committee on Energy statement issued today in Baghdad can be found HERE.